


Retail Therapy

by thimbleberry



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Awkwardness, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 03:34:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8040916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thimbleberry/pseuds/thimbleberry
Summary: Prompt Code: P013Junmyeon’s method of shopping online to avoid his loneliness ends up bringing him not only a lot of useless items, but also the company of the delivery boy, Jongdae.





	Retail Therapy

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what this is. It was supposed to be 5,000 words of fluff, and just turned into this weird ass, crackish lump of bad sex jokes and awkwardness OTL. So then I thought I would just make it into a humorous story, but I don’t know how well that worked out…Dear prompter, I apologize if this is not at all what you wanted. I really don’t know what happened. I had fun writing this though, so I hope you enjoy it anyway!! ^.^

Junmyeon scrolled down the page on ebay, reading through the various items. Full body shiatsu massage chair, too expensive. GE four-slot toaster, he already had two toasters. Handmade paisley pillowcase, but then he would have to get a pillow to go with it. Junmyeon scrolled further, his eyes quickly scanning over the computer screen. 

24” by 18” Girl’s generation poster. Yes. Perfect. With an excited smile, Junmyeon added it to his shopping cart. Yoona looked amazing, and it was from the Mr. Mr. era, which was quite possibly Junmyeon’s favorite (besides Gee, of course). Junmyeon scrolled the other items in his cart, nearly bouncing with glee. His day had been absolute shit, but this poster made it so much better. And the shittiness was completely erased when his new poster was combined with the chess set and miniature Christmas tree he was also ordering. Junmyeon was hesitant to get next-day shipping because of the extra expense, but he did it anyways, giving his poor credit card a sympathetic look. It would totally be worth it. 

Closing his laptop, Junmyeon flopped down onto the couch, throwing an arm over his eyes and letting out a sigh. He hadn’t had a very good day. They were out of his favorite cake at the coffee shop near his office building, then his boss had yelled at him because he had filed some documents wrong. After work he had tried to ask out that cute guy at his favorite takeout restaurant, who had promptly and ruthlessly turned him down. Whatever. Junmyeon would find someone way better. He would.

Junmyeon liked to buy things online when he was sad. Mostly useless things, like an additional toaster and an alarm clock with puppies on it. He knew of his habit, and knew it was a bad one, but he couldn’t really bring himself to try giving it up. Somehow his mind fathomed that buying things on ebay would make him feel less lonely and upset. He didn’t have a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, and his family lived far away. He had some friends, but they were the kind of people who were too into their work to bother spending much time with anyone. Except for Jongin, he was too busy reading BL manga and watching shoujo anime into the early hours of the morning to be bothered to socialize with actual people. And Sehun, he was just a little shit. So Junmyeon bought things online. 

He had considered getting a cat, since his apartment building allowed them, but ended up rethinking that plan when he considered how good he was at taking care of things. Junmyeon could barely remember to feed himself most days. Jongin had a cat—a really cute fuzzy one, but Mr. Fluffles hated Junmyeon with a passion, so he steered clear.

Junmyeon dragged himself off the couch with a sigh and made his way into the kitchen. He wasn’t much of a cook, so he stuck some bread in one of his toasters and pulled out a Harry Potter mug from one of the cabinets. It was another online purchase. He had never read Harry Potter, but he watched some of the movies a few years back and bought the mug when he saw it was only $1.99. 

After a dinner of toast and hot chocolate with little dehydrated marshmallows, Junmyeon went to bed. He thought about the new things he bought, that would arrive the next day, and fell asleep in a somewhat less shitty mood. 

~

Junmyeon rolled his neck side to side, hearing the joints pop. He had been sitting at his desk at home for over an hour, catching up on replying to emails. This day had been equally bad as the previous one. His neck and back were stiff from sitting in a desk all day—he was a secretary—and he’d gotten a call from his mother to say that she and his father would be travelling over Christmas vacation, and wouldn’t be able to see him. They were always traveling on Christmas. And his birthday. Junmyeon had eaten instant noodles for dinner and scrolled through ebay some more. 

When the doorbell rang, Junmyeon flew up off the couch, nearly knocking over his laptop, and hurried over to the door. He flung it open, eager to have his new purchases. He looked up, and stopped. He stood there for a few seconds, blinking. 

“Hello, sir,” The young man smiled brightly at him. 

“Um. Hello,” Junmyeon said. He swallowed. 

The man who usually delivered the packages was a forty-something year old man who had a beer belly and a receding hairline. This man had neither of those things. He was nice to look at. And by “nice to look at”, Junmyeon meant unbelievably attractive.

“These are yours, I believe,” The guy said, looking at him expectantly. 

“Wha- yes, yes of course, those are…they’re mine. Yes, thank you.” Junmyeon stumbled over his words, sure that he sounded stupid. The man pressed his lips together, trying to hold back a smile. His lips were really pretty, and they curled up cutely at the corners. He glanced down at the wooden clipboard in his right hand, soft bangs falling forward into his eyes.

“Okay, complete classic wooden chess set,” he began, reading off the clipboard he held in his hands. 

“Yes, that’s fine, you don’t need to read-“ Junmyeon started, but the delivery boy just continued reading. 

“12.5” miniature tabletop Christmas tree,” He stated. 

“You really don’t have to-“

“It’s part of my job, sir,” he looked up Junmyeon with an earnest expression, but the corners of his lips twitched, and Junmyeon could tell he was tying not to laugh. “And a 24” by 18” Girl’s Generation Mr. Mr. deluxe poster,” he finished, looking back towards Junmyeon. “Nice.”

Junmyeon cleared his throat, shifting his feet awkwardly. “Yes, thank you,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact. He could feel the heat of the blush on his cheeks. The delivery boy handed him the stack of packages with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Have a nice evening, sir,” he said cheerfully. “Enjoy your poster.”

Junmyeon stood there for a few seconds before he slammed the door shut. Where was the regular delivery man? He didn’t insist on reading out the contents of Junmyeon’s deliveries. He also didn’t look good in the ugly postal service uniforms, or smile charmingly, or have hair that looked soft and shiny, and Junmyeon really wanted to run his hands through that hair and see what it felt like. Where the fuck was the regular delivery man? 

Junmyeon’s embarrassment about his own awkwardness, and about a cute guy finding out that he—a twenty-five year old man—liked Girl’s Generation, had dampened his spirits a little, but he was still pleased as he hung up the poster on his living room wall. At least he now had not only the poster, but also his chess set and adorable Christmas tree. Now when he was alone without his family on Christmas, he would at least have the little tree on his kitchen table. And he could play chess against himself. Junmyeon frowned. 

He flopped back onto the couch with a groan, feeling dejected. It was a few minutes of laying there, staring up at the white ceiling, before he reached over to pick up his phone off the coffee table. His fingers tapped absently against the arm of the couch as he dialed Kyungsoo’s number and waited. Kyungsoo picked up on the fourth ring, just before it was about to go to voicemail.

“Junmyeon?”

“Hey, are you busy?” Junmyeon began. “I was thinking we could get drinks with Yixing or something,” Please say yes, please say yes. If Junmyeon had to sit around alone for another night, he would just end up buying more unnecessary things online. 

“Sorry, I’m actually busy right now,” Kyungsoo said. He didn’t sound particularly apologetic. 

“That’s okay, maybe another time,” Junmyeon tried not to sound bothered. 

He called Jongin, too, who didn’t answer. Yixing picked up, but he couldn’t go out, something about his girlfriend. Junmyeon didn’t bother calling Sehun. He wasn’t that desperate. 

With all of his resources exhausted, Junmyeon turned back to his trusty laptop and opened up safari. Ebay was the first one on his top sites page. Amazon was the second. 

~

“I don’t know, man, maybe you need to get laid,” Sehun told him as he added a fifth packet of sugar into his coffee. Junmyeon gave him a withering look. Sehun held his hands up in defense. “Just saying, I get laid on a regular basis and you don’t see me having this problem.”

“It hasn’t been that long, okay?” Junmyeon stirred his coffee forcefully, nearly making the hot liquid slosh out onto his hand. 

“Yeah, sure, Junmyeon. Sure,” Sehun smirked at him. “Luhan and I-”

“I don’t want to hear about your kinky, disgusting sex life,” Junmyeon interrupted, nearly shrieking. “We’re at work.”

“So if we weren’t at work-”

“No, Sehun.”

“Okay but seriously, when Luhan tops, it’s amazing, his-”

“I do not want to hear about this, or anything that has to do with Luhan’s dick, you filthy-”

“See, this is what I’m saying Junmyeon, maybe if you got laid you wouldn’t be so uptight about everything,” Sehun said, giving Junmyeon a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before he turned back to his coffee cup. He was now adding copious amounts of vanilla flavored creamer to it. 

“That is not the problem,” Junmyeon almost hissed.

“Well maybe getting some dick will also help with your shopping addiction,” Sehun smiled at him, batting his eyelashes and trying to act sweet. “Or I don’t know, maybe you’re more into shoving your dick in someone else.” He shrugged, deliberating for a moment before picking up another packet of sugar.

“I don’t understand what Luhan sees in you,” Junmyeon muttered. Sehun was such a little shit. And if Junmyeon had to hear one more description of the kinky activities that occurred between him and Luhan, he would probably flip a desk. Not only was it disgusting to have to imagine Sehun in some of the ways he described, but it was also like the asshole was trying to make Junmyeon feel more alone. 

Sehun was right, he hadn’t gotten laid in way too long. 

Stupid Sehun. Stupid life. 

~

Junmyeon saw the delivery boy again two days later. He greeted Junmyeon with the same bright smile when the door opened. And he was even cuter than Junmyeon had remembered, damn it.

“Hello, sir,” he said when the door opened. 

“Hello,” Junmyeon was already dreading the next part. 

“Let’s see, 5 foot comfort body pillow-”

“It really won’t be necessary, if you could just skip that and give-”

“I’m sorry sir, this is in my job description.” He sounded just a little too gleeful about it. The delivery boy gave him a teasing grin and continued. “Collector’s edition Uchiha Sasuke action figure.”

Junmyeon had to hold back a grimace. He wasn’t really that into Naruto. He’d only watched like, most of it. A couple of times.

“And a limited edition unicorn and pegasus coloring book.” The delivery boy gave him an amused smile before handing over the packages. Junmyeon could feel the blush coloring his cheeks. He cleared his throat, taking the packages quickly and trying not to look up. The coloring book had been a mistake. Definitely a mistake. Adult coloring books had started to become a thing lately, and Junmyeon had just figured it would be a good way to pass the time. It had seemed like a good idea when he had ordered it. It wasn’t worth it. 

Junmyeon stared after him as he walked away, until he glanced back over his shoulder and caught Junmyeon’s eye, grinning at him. Junmyeon went bright red and darted inside, slamming the door closed behind him.

~

The very cute postal delivery boy was back again a few days later. Junmyeon had managed to get some hopefully less embarrassing things off of Amazon, so he wasn’t dreading it as much this time. When the doorbell rang, he hurried over to the door, opening it with an expectant look on his face.

He stopped. The delivery boy had dyed his hair. It was a dark blonde color now, wide eyes peeking out from under the fringe, and it looked beautiful and fluffy and nice and Junmyeon really wanted to touch it. He spent several seconds staring blankly, gaze unfocused. Junmyeon’s gaze travelled to his lips, pink and delicately shaped and looking perfectly kissable. He could just imagine feeling them against his own, running his tongue along them, biting into the plump lower lip. It was getting to be an awkwardly long time before he straightened and cleared his throat. His face was already red, he could tell. 

“Hello, sir,” the delivery boy greeted like usual, giving Junmyeon a sunny smile, the corners of his lips curving up sweetly. “My name is Kim Jongdae, by the way.”

“O-Oh?” Junmyeon stammered. “Kim Junmyeon.” He wanted to punch himself in the face. “That’s my name, I mean. My name is Junmyeon.” Jongdae looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. 

“That’s a nice name.”

Junmyeon took just a second too long to reply. “Thanks. Yours, too. It’s also a nice name.” He really, really wanted to punch himself in the face. The tips of his ears were red. 

“Well then,” Jongdae moved on, a smile still etched on his lips. His eyes scanned over the clipboard in his hand. “Martha Stewart lamp, and plaid printed dachshund pillow.” Okay, so maybe the things he ordered were still equally as embarrassing, if the amused expression on Jongdae’s face was anything to go by. He seemed entirely too pleased with himself. 

“Thank you,” Junmyeon mumbled, taking the packages Jongdae handed him. 

“You’re welcome, sir. Have a nice day.” Jongdae said, waving as he turned and headed down the hallway. Junmyeon shut the apartment door behind him and slumped against it. He needed to get his life in order. 

~

In order to avoid shopping online, Junmyeon decided to drown his woes in the cake at his favorite coffee shop. It was only a ten minute walk from the office building where he worked, so when he left for the day, he turned left and headed towards the shop. 

The autumn air was fresh and the sun was out, though it did little to brighten his mood. Junmyeon frowned at the sidewalk as he walked along, briefcase in hand. He had been busy filing papers and taking calls all day, and he was tired from staying late to finish everything up. Nearly all of the people who called were pissed off and it was difficult being patient and polite to people who just wanted to yell at him for no reason. Junmyeon had asked Kyungsoo and Yixing if they wanted to get dinner or drinks together, but they had declined. As usual. And now Junmyeon was going to eat cake by himself. He told himself he liked it better like this anyway.

He was too lost in thought, eyes on the ground, that when he looked up, Junmyeon nearly had a heart attack. There, just a few meters away, was Jongdae. 

Without a second thought, Junmyeon ducked his head and slipped into the nearest store. Yes, it was childish and stupid, but the last thing he wanted was for Jongdae to see him. Junmyeon had already embarrassed himself enough times in front of the delivery boy, and he wanted to avoid contact. He knew that once he was engaged in conversation he would probably blush like a teenage girl and say something really stupid, or trip over his own feet. Well, there was a good chance he would do that anyway, but the probability increased exponentially when Jongdae was involved.

Junmyeon quickly stepped inside the store and closed the door behind him. He took a few minutes to gather his thoughts before he looked up. Oh shit. 

He was in a sex toy store. Perfect.

“Can I help you find anything today?” An employee asked, giving him a smile. His eyes seemed to glitter at the expression on Junmyeon’s face. His hair was dyed brown and tousled, eyes bright and thin lips tilted up in a smile. He had a nametag that said Baekhyun.

Junmyeon could already feel his face growing hot as his eyes scanned around the shop. “Um…”

“If there’s nothing in particular, I could show you our new collection of-“

“No, that’s alright,” Junmyeon blurted out. “I’m just, um…browsing.” 

“Okay, well let me know if you need help finding anything,” the employee said before heading off towards the back off the store. 

Junmyeon was inwardly cringing, but he forced himself to venture a few steps further into the store. This was still probably better than facing Jongdae. He was just breathing a sigh of relief at having escaped that interaction, when the bell on the door chimed, and a voice rang out. 

“Baekhyun! I brought you your precious latte!” 

Wait. Junmyeon recognized that voice. Fuck. Fucking fuckity fuck fuck mother fu-

“Junmyeon?” 

“Hey,” Junmyeon turned towards Jongdae, trying to sound casual despite the fact that he was screaming internally. 

“Hey! I thought that was you, didn’t expect you to come in here,” He grinned. He looked so cute when he smiled like that, oh god. 

“Yeah, well…you know…” Junmyeon trailed off with an awkward laugh. The employee, Baekhyun, saved Junmyeon from having to come up with something when he practically skipped over to Jongdae, snatching the coffee cup he held in his hand.

“Thanks Dae, I love you,” Baekhyun said, reaching up to pinch Jongdae’s cheek in a way that was a little too forceful to be considered sweet. Wait. He just told Jongdae that he loved him. Did Jongdae have a boyfriend? Oh god, what if they were dating? Junmyeon was really going to punch himself in the face this time. And fuck, they actually did look sort of cute together, probably cuter than if Junmyeon was with Jongdae.

“You’re a terrible friend, you better pay me back for that,” Jongdae said, swatting Baekhyun’s hands away and rubbing his abused cheek. Oh thank god, they were just friends. Wait, what-

Junmyeon stood there having an internal battle, vaguely registering Baekhyun smacking Jongdae’s arm with a purple dildo. Jongdae managed to wrench the vibrating piece of plastic from his friend’s hands and whack him over the head with it.

“So anyways, Junmyeon, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Jongdae was grinning at him again. Junmyeon cleared his throat. He knew his face was flushed, but he tried to ignore it. 

“Yeah, I just have to…get something, um, for a friend,” He mumbled. Jongdae grinned, muffling his laughter behind his hand. It was unbelievably cute.

“A friend?” Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at him. “What is it that this friend wants you to get?” 

“Uh…just, something like that,” Junmyeon gestured randomly at a shelf near him. 

“This one?” Baekhyun asked, picking up a huge dildo. He appraised it calmly, taking of a sip of his latte. He looked up at Junmyeon. “7 inches, comes in six different colors. The vibration settings are very nice, it’s actually one of my personal favorites.”

“You’re so gay, Baekhyun,” Jongdae teased. 

“Shut up, so are you,” Baekhyun smacked Jongdae with a dildo again a few times before Jongdae managed to wrestle it away from him. Oh god, Jongdae was gay. He liked men. Junmyeon was a man. Junmyeon was also gay, and Jongdae was also a man. Wow. “I’m trying to help this customer, you’re distracting me, go away!” Baekhyun fussed, trying to shoo Jongdae away.

“Since when are you interested in actually doing your job?” Jongdae laughed and plucked the coffee cup out of Baekhyun’s hand. He took a sip and made a face. “You told me a million times you were only in it for the employee discount.” 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and turned back to Junmyeon, who was watching Jongdae with a dreamy expression on his face. Baekhyun cleared his throat. Junmyeon’s eyes snapped towards him, his cheeks coloring just the slightest bit. Baekhyun must have noticed, but he didn’t say anything, just smirked at Junmyeon knowingly. 

“So, would you like to buy this, or can I interest you in something else?” Baekhyun prompted.

“Actually, my friend would probably want to see it before buying, so maybe I’ll just, uh, get it another time,” Junmyeon said in a rush. Jongdae giggled, actually giggled. 

“Are you sure? We have some discounts at the moment,” Baekhyun said.

“That won’t necessary, thank you,” Junmyeon straightened his tie, trying to will himself not to blush any more. “I have to go, um, get dinner.”

“See you around!” Jongdae said with a wave. He was smiling brightly, pink lips and straight teeth and crinkled eyes.

“Stop by again when that friend of yours figures out what they want,” Baekhyun said in a teasing tone. 

“Yeah, sure,” Junmyeon mumbled back, speed-walking towards the door, trying to hurry without looking too frantic. He scrambled out without another glance, breathing out a sigh of relief. 

Clutching his briefcase tightly, Junmyeon continued a few more blocks before he got to the coffee shop. The bell chimed as he came in, and the girl working at the counter offered him a smile when he went up to order his cake. Slumping into a chair, Junmyeon allowed himself to sit there moping while he shoveled a bite of sugary cake and chocolate frosting into his mouth. He felt even lonelier now than he had been before.

He was so awkward whenever he was around Jongdae. He didn’t act like himself, but something about him was so refreshing. Jongdae was young and vibrant, and it was such a sharp contrast to the sullen, burned out workaholics that Junmyeon was accustomed to spending his time with. Even though Junmyeon hardly knew Jongdae, he felt just a little less lonely every time the boy smiled at him. 

~

Junmyeon and Jongdae fell into something of a routine. A few times a week, Jongdae would arrive with more boxes holding the odd collection of things Junmyeon ordered online. Cheap household appliances, clothes that Junmyeon probably wouldn’t actually end up wearing, little decorative items that sat uselessly around his apartment. 

He would smile and laugh, and as they got more comfortable with each other, he would tease Junmyeon about his purchases. 

“Hyung, you really like Girl’s Generation, huh?” He asked with a teasing tilt to his lips when he delivered Junmyeon’s Yoona keychain. 

“And what the hell are you even going to do with a ceramic cat statue?”

Jongdae was sharp-witted and playful, and he smiled and laughed as if delivering Junmyeon’s useless online purchases was the most fun he could imagine. Instead of dreading it like he once had, Junmyeon looked forward to the time when Jongdae would surely knock on the door to his apartment, wearing a grin and holding the familiar clipboard and a stack of boxes. 

Junmyeon learned that his apartment complex was the last stop on Jongdae’s delivery route every day. He always had a few extra minutes to talk to Junmyeon, and they got to know each other over the space of a few weeks. Junmyeon discovered that Jongdae had an older brother, that he liked steamed buns, that his best friend was Baekhyun, that he wanted to be a singer. Jongdae found that Junmyeon worked as a secretary for the CEO of a publishing company, shopped online when he was sad (or bored, or lonely, or anything really), that he could play the piano. 

Junmyeon wasn’t sure exactly when his online shopping because less of a thing to ease his sadness, and more of an excuse to see Jongdae.

It just began to happen gradually. When he scrolled through pages of sale items on amazon, he wasn’t thinking about his shitty day at work, or his antisocial friends, or his terrible luck. He thought about Jongdae with his cute laugh and teasing smile, and hoped he could see him again soon. 

It didn’t exactly hit him until he was sitting in the coffee shop after work, eating a slice of cake and looking over some papers. He didn’t feel sad today, but he was trying to hurry and finish his cake so he could go home and order something online. Jongdae’s face flashed through his mind and then he stopped. Junmyeon slowly set down his fork, blinking. He was in too deep, but he didn’t really want to resurface.

When he got home, Junmyeon bought a set of salt and pepper shakers shaped like strawberries, and clicked on next-day shipping. 

~

Junmyeon wasn’t getting much work done. He had been sitting at his desk in the office for an hour, but his mind kept wandering. He was mulling over the different ways to ask Jongdae to have dinner with him. Junmyeon wasn’t much of a cook, but he wanted to put in an effort and impress Jongdae by cooking for him. It was a daunting task for someone with Junmyeon’s level of competency in the kitchen, but he was determined. He had spent over an hour the day before looking up recipes online that weren’t too complicated, but still difficult enough to not be commonplace. 

He had eventually decided on steak, because steak was delicious and fancy, and there happened to be a crappy charcoal grill on his balcony. But now the problem was actually figuring out how to invite Jongdae. He would probably be coming later that night to deliver the pillowcases Junmyeon had ordered a few days before. Half of him wanted to ask Jongdae that day, but the other half was pretty sure he would chicken out. 

After another hour of fruitless work at his desk, Junmyeon headed home for the evening. On the drive back to his apartment building, he almost ran a red light, too distracted by picturing Jongdae’s smile. 

It was only an hour of waiting before the doorbell rang, and Junmyeon sprang up off the couch, nearly running to the door. He tripped over a pair of shoes in his hurry, and almost faceplanted, just barely managing to catch himself on the back of the couch. When he opened the door, Jongdae was standing there with a little half-smile on his face, looking like an absolute angel in a postal services uniform. Junmyeon’s brain was about to launch into imagining kissing those perfect lips, before he forced himself to concentrate. 

“Hi,” Jongdae greeted him. 

“Hi,” Junmyeon echoed, giving him what was supposed to be a charming smile, but probably looked more terrified and in pain. Physical pain because his brain couldn’t comprehend the beauty that was Kim Jongdae. 

He gave Junmyeon a sly look and turned to his clipboard. "Alright then, Changing your Life Today." He snorted. “Huh, you don’t seem like the type who reads self-help books.”

“I don’t,” Junmyeon said without thinking. Jongdae raised an eyebrow, and Junmyeon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Well, now it was definitely obvious that just bought random shit for no reason. “I just bought it…because, I don’t know, I thought I might read it one day?” He bought it because it popped up first on Amazon, actually, and it wasn’t expensive.

“Uh huh, sure,” Jongdae teased, and looked back down at the clipboard.

"Do we really still have to do this?" Junmyeon asked, a whine in his voice. He pleaded with his eyes, but Jongdae just giggled. 

"And a G-Dragon bobblehead. Wow, really?"

Junmyeon mumbled excuses under his breath, realizing he had no justification for the stupid things he bought online. He scuffed his shoe against the floor and willed himself not to blush.

"I just...dinner. I'm learning how to cook stuff, and, so...um. Yes. Dinner," Junmyeon was inwardly cringing at his pathetic attempt. Jongdae seemed to be amused by it, and Junmyeon felt so stupid he wanted to slam the door shut and retreat into his room and become a hermit. 

"You're cooking, good for you," Jongdae commented. His hair was sticking up endearingly, ruffled by the wind, and his lips looked soft and pink.

"Yes. It is good," Junmyeon gathered his thoughts and tried again. "I mean, hopefully it's good." Jongdae blinked at him expectantly. "Would you like to find out?" 

Jongdae's lips slowly spread into a pleased smile, his fingers clenching around his clipboard. 

"Are you inviting me to have dinner with you?" There was a teasing lilt to his voice.

"Yes, that's what I'm doing," Junmyeon swallowed. "Um, maybe tomorrow?" His hands tugged nervously at the hem of his navy blue sweater. Yixing had told Junmyeon that it looked nice on him, and Junmyeon had very much wanted to look nice. (And he actually trusted Yixing’s judgement. Sehun had tried to convince him to wear the shirt he’d given Junmyeon as a gag gift for his birthday, one that had I LIKE DICK printed across it in bolded letters.) 

Junmyeon shuffled uncomfortably, and when he looked up, he was faced with a smile so bright thought he might pass out right then and there. 

"I would love to," Jongdae answered.

"Really?" Wait-no, he wasn't supposed to sound that surprised. "That's...that's cool. Well then. Cool," Junmyeon nodded, and Jongdae just tried to stifle a laugh. 

"Cool," he agreed. There was a moment of quiet before Jongdae held out the boxes for him to take. “Unfortunately, I still have deliveries to make.” He made this adorable pouting face and Junmyeon’s brain started melting. He took the cardboard boxes from Jongdae’s hands, their fingers just brushing, and smiled as charmingly as he could.

“See you tomorrow then. 7:00?”

“Sounds good, see you then!” Jongdae waved cutely as he walked away.

Junmyeon shut the door behind him and slumped against the wood, grinning like an idiot. He said yes. Junmyeon tossed the packages aside on the couch and had to hold himself back from squealing. He was a twenty-five year old man, he did not squeal. He did, however, jump up and down and giggle somewhat maniacally. 

I was perfect until the panic set in. Then he realized how much pressure this was. It had to be perfect. A perfect date for a perfect person. He needed to practice cooking. He had to clean his apartment, he had to find something to wear. And he had only one day to do it.

~

Under normal circumstances, Junmyeon never would’ve resorted to asking Sehun for help. After all, the little shit had tried to convince him to wear a shirt that said I LIKE DICK. 

But he had exhausted all his other resources. Kyungsoo and Yixing—really his only friends with judgement that was to be trusted—were both busy. Surprise, surprise. Junmyeon had tried calling Jongin, but it turned out he was on a weekend trip with his girlfriend. What the fuck? With the amount of yaoi manga that boy read, Junmyeon had always figured he was gay. But there he was with a girlfriend—a model to be exact—and apparently he and Soojung had been dating for a month. Junmyeon didn’t really know what to think anymore.

On the other hand, if someone as hopeless as Jongin managed to get a model for a girlfriend, how difficult could it be for Junmyeon to win over Jongdae?

Apparently, very difficult. And Sehun wasn’t making it any easier. While Jongin was gone, Sehun was taking care of his cat, Mr. Fluffles. And of course, Sehun had to bring the cat over to Junmyeon’s apartment, insisting he would get lonely while Sehun was gone helping Junmyeon prepare for his date. Mr. Fluffles was actually the meanest cat Junmyeon had ever laid eyes on, and every time Junmyeon came into contact with him, the evil cat would do everything in his power to make things difficult for Junmyeon. At the present moment he was yowling loudly and insisting on trying to climb the curtains. 

Sehun was no less destructive, honestly. He look the liberty of insulting most of Junmyeon’s belongings, and also threw Junmyeon’s clothes all over the floor, not finding anything in his closet worth wearing. 

“Seriously, do you have anything other than button ups and sweater vests?”

“Yes I do,” Junmyeon insisted. “There are jeans and t-shirts in there too!”

“Well I’m just saying, don’t wear one of those stuffy sweater vests like you do for work.” He crossed his arms over his chest, cocked his hip to the side, and raised one eyebrow. Junmyeon wanted to smack him.

“That’s at work, Sehun. I’m supposed to look professional.”

Junmyeon quickly regretted asking for Sehun’s advice, and practically shoved him out the door. 

“Okay, I’ll figure this out by myself, thank you for your wonderful help. It was very unhelpful,” he ushered Sehun down the hallway and towards the door. He scooped Mr. Fluffles off of the curtain, wincing when his claws tugged at the fabric, and plopped the cat down into Sehun’s arms. 

“I’m just saying, maybe-” Junmyeon slammed the door before Sehun could finish his sentence. Yes, he was being rude, but one could not be subtle when dealing with Oh Sehun. 

By the time that was over, Junmyeon’s apartment was even messier, there was a cat scratch on his forearm, Mr. Fluffles had pulled down the curtain rod, and Junmyeon still had no idea what to wear. 

Sehun gave Junmyeon the urge to order shit online so he could forget the pain of being in that idiot’s presence. 

~

Somehow Junmyeon managed to pull it together in time, and was adjusting his hair in front of the mirror when his doorbell chimed. Taking a deep breath, Junmyeon gave his reflection a once over and—deeming himself presentable, made his way down the hall to answer the door.

Jongdae greeted Junmyeon with a smile that made his chest ache, eyes scrunching up and lips curving to reveal white teeth. Junmyeon hadn’t thought about it until now, but he had never seen Jongdae out of his postal services uniform. And dear god, he looked amazing. He was wearing a button down shirt and some dress pants—nothing too fancy, but he looked unfairly good. Junmyeon smiled back and moved to the side to let him in. 

“Hi,” he said intelligently, still smiling. 

“Hi,” Jongdae said back, stepping across the threshold into Junmyeon’s apartment. His eyes had been on Junmyeon, but he was now observing the interior of the apartment with a hint of a smirk on his face. “Nice place you have.”

“Ah…yeah, thank you,” Junmyeon was realizing that even though he had scoured the whole place—even scrubbing the floorboards—he hadn’t done a very good job of hiding his random shit. The Martha Stewart casserole dish set, (Junmyeon didn’t really cook much). Purple gummy bear night light, (useless since Junmyeon liked sleeping in complete darkness). Signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars (he still hadn’t read it, and probably never would). 

“You have a gummy bear night light,” Jongdae remarked casually. 

“Yes,” Junmyeon said. “I do have a gummy bear night light. It’s pretty cool, right?” 

“Mhm, super cool,” he grinned. 

“Here, I’ll take your jacket,” Junmyeon offered, jumping at the chance to steer Jongdae into the kitchen where hopefully his cooking would be more impressive than his gummy bear night light. They made small talk while Junmyeon poured glasses of fancy wine that was honestly way more expensive then Junmyeon usually drank, but he had kind of gone overboard on this dinner. There was a tablecloth. And candles. Fucking candles. Junmyeon was sort of regretting every life decision he’d ever made, but he knew it was too late to back out now. 

Luckily, Jongdae seemed to be wholeheartedly amused and delighted by the whole thing, though, so Junmyeon forced himself to relax. Dates were supposed to be enjoyable, not so anxiety provoking that one wanted to run in circles screaming.

Neither of them were good at small talk, so they skimmed over that part after just a few exchanges.

“So…you were probably one of the cool kids in high school, right?” Jongdae teased, twirling his fork around in his fingers. Junmyeon gave him a look, even though he was already laughing. 

“I was on the basketball team my second year, which was kind of cool? That didn’t last for very long, though. I was kind of a band nerd,” Junmyeon explained. “I bet you were one of the popular guys, right?”

Jongdae burst out laughing, dropping his face into his hands. “I spent pretty much all of my time at school in the choir room, either singing or reading weird comic books. Definitely not popular,” he said, still giggling. “Like, really weird comic books, you probably don’t want to know.”

“You should see my friend Jongin, basically all he does is read yaoi manga. And he’s straight.”

The more time passed, the more Junmyeon could feel himself relaxing, teasing Jongdae back and laughing more. They talked about work, hobbies, their families and friends—anything and everything. It was already two hours later by the time their conversation died down. They lingered for several more minutes, Jongdae playing with the end of the tablecloth and smiling a lot. Junmyeon was smiling a lot too, and it felt nice. 

“Let me walk you home, it’s only ten minutes,” Junmyeon offered, expression hopeful. Jongdae looked thoughtful, meeting Junmyeon’s eyes and tilting his head to the side a fraction. 

“Exactly, it’s only ten minutes,” he countered.

“It’s not safe, it’s late and it’s dark outside,” Junmyeon insisted. “You could get mugged or kidnapped.” Jongdae raised an eyebrow, but Junmyeon could see the amusement in his eyes, and the curve of his lips that suggested he was holding back a laugh.

“Mhm, and you’ll protect me with your gummy bear nightlight and action figure collection, I suppose,” he teased, and Junmyeon grinned even though he was blushing. 

“Just let me walk you home, dammit.”

“Pushy,” Jongdae laughed as he stood up, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves. They made their way to the door, grabbing their jackets from the coat hanger. “If you insist.”

It was a short walk to the apartment Jongdae shared with Baekhyun and their other friend Chanyeol, and they only passed a few people on the street. 

It was already halfway through the walk when Junmyeon got up the courage to reach across the short gap between them and slide his hand into Jongdae’s. When the other boy turned his head to smile up at him, his fingers tightening slightly, Junmyeon felt a little giddy. It was ridiculous—he felt like a middle school girl, getting flustered about holding hands with a cute boy—but Jongdae just seemed to have that effect on him. 

And later when Jongdae leaned in to kiss him on the doorstep, lips sweet and warm and insistent, Junmyeon knew he could never get enough of this boy.

~

They had exchanged numbers that day, and one date turned into two, then three, and soon they came to a wordless agreement that they were boyfriends.

They fell into a different routine after that. Junmyeon didn’t really shop online anymore—didn’t need to, now that he could just text Jongdae and ask if he wanted to go out. And he didn’t have to eat chocolate cake alone in the corner anymore, which was quite nice. 

Sometimes they had dinner together at a restaurant, or sometimes Junmyeon cooked. They had pretty quickly discovered that the cooking shouldn’t be left to Jongdae—his idea of dinner was an enormous bag of pizza rolls, which he promptly burned. 

Junmyeon wasn’t really sad anymore. Even at work, Junmyeon caught himself smiling and humming aimlessly. Kyungsoo and Yixing seemed a little confused, but Sehun would keep smirking at him and raising his eyebrows suggestively, despite how many times Junmyeon told him that no, Sehun, I did not “dick him”, shut the hell up. 

He didn’t want to rush anything with Jongdae, he was happy with the way things were going. His protests did nothing to stop Sehun’s suggestive comments when he passed by Junmyeon, nor did it deter Sehun’s insistence to be introduced to the man who “charmed his way into frumpy old Junmyeon’s pants”. The old Junmyeon probably would have snapped and tried to strangle Sehun, but new, happy Junmyeon just agreed and ruffled Sehun’s hair to annoy him. 

Sehun had decided to drag along Jongin, and when Baekhyun, Jongdae’s best friend, heard that Junmyeon’s friends were going to meet him, he insisted that he and Chanyeol come along too.

And that was how, ten days later, Junmyeon and Jongdae sat around a cafe table with Sehun, Jongin, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol. Junmyeon felt a little intimidated for some reason, and when he remembered that Baekhyun was the guy from the sex toy shop, he only grew more nervous. Jongdae assured him that Chanyeol and Baekhyun were friendly, though, and he quickly realized that he shouldn’t have ever worried.

They were fun to be around, Chanyeol laughing too loud, always smacking Baekhyun or the table in the process, and then Baekhyun giving an exaggerated imitation of him. They both liked to tease Jongdae mercilessly as well, and Sehun and Jongin were no different with Junmyeon. 

“I can’t believe he’s real!” Jongin said, laughing and jostling Junmyeon’s shoulder. 

“Of course he’s real!” Junmyeon fussed. “Why would I be making it up?”

“Because you have no game, hyung,” Sehun broke in. As usual, he was pouring ridiculous amounts of sugar into his coffee. “I can’t believe I finally get to meet the famous Jongdae I’ve heard so much about,” Junmyeon gave him a warning look. “I’m serious, he never shuts up, it’s always Jongdae this and Jongdae that,” Sehun continued, and Junmyeon flicked his arm. That wasn’t even true. “So Jongdae, why in the name of all that is holy are you dating Junmyeon?” 

Jongdae smiled innocently. “Well, there was really no other choice, I agreed to have dinner with him just to get him off my back-” Jongdae easily dodged sugar packet Junmyeon threw at him, laughing.

“Don’t lie, you like me,” Junmyeon tried to make a cute pouting face which only succeeded in making Jongdae half choke on his sip of water.

“Don’t try to do aegyo, please, just spare us all,” Jongdae scrunched up his nose, and Junmyeon’s heart momentarily malfunctioned from how cute it was. 

~

They usually spent time together at Junmyeon’s apartment, since the one time they went to Jongdae’s, Baekhyun squished his ass in between them on the couch and asked way too many questions about their (so far nonexistent) sex life. Junmyeon was getting used to Baekhyun, the guy honestly was nice, but sometimes he was too exuberant. 

Junmyeon was easing into everything much more smoothly than he thought, and before he knew it, Jongdae’s friends were his, and his were Jongdae’s as well. Nights at the bar with everyone turned out to be fun, and also very expensive when Sehun clapped him on the back and volunteered Junmyeon to buy the next round of drinks, leaving no chance for him to protest. Little shit. 

Junmyeon also ended up getting stuck with the job of carrying a passed out Sehun to his car and transporting him home, after the idiot had challenged Jongin to a drunken dance battle and hit his head on a barstool. Junmyeon probably should have been upset about getting stuck with his drunken, giggling weight, but he couldn’t really bring himself to be annoyed when Jongdae was standing beside him, laughing and holding onto his arm. 

There were times when they would just lay on the couch and talk, for an hour, two, sometimes more. 

“Do you like being a secretary?” Jongdae asked, lifting his head from where it was pillowed on Junmyeon’s chest and looking questioningly at him. Junmyeon half shrugged from where he was laying with his head against the arm of the couch, Jongdae’s weight warm and comforting on top of him. 

“It’s okay, I guess,” he said, watching the ceiling fan rotate. “My boss is okay. Almost all of my coworkers are workaholics, though .” His job wasn’t bad. Mundane at times, but he liked it well enough. “What about you? Delivering packages, I mean, how is it?”

The corner of Jongdae’s mouth twitched up. “It’s actually pretty good. It’s enough to pay for food and rent, and I get to meet new people,” he said, then dropped his head back onto Junmyeon’s chest. “Like you.” Junmyeon smiled. 

“I’m glad I ordered so much shit online.”

“Me too,” Jongdae laughed softly. “And I’m glad you’re on my delivery route. I’m glad that’s my job if it brought me to you.” Jongdae squirmed, straining up to reach Junmyeon’s lips in a soft kiss. When they pulled apart, he gave a happy sigh and let his eyes slide open.

“But it’s temporary, you know? Until I can get a job in the music industry. I want to be a singer,” Jongdae mumbled, his words muffled against Junmyeon’s throat, eyelashes brushing just under his jaw.

Junmyeon’s hand dropped to run his fingers through Jongdae’s hair, the dark roots starting to grow in again. “You should sing for me sometime,” he suggested. 

“Alright, I will.”

~

Junmyeon was thoroughly convinced that Jongdae had the voice of an angel. No, maybe he just was an angel. 

Junmyeon first heard him sing when they were lying in the grass one Saturday, in the park near Jongdae’s apartment building. They were looking at the clouds overhead and pointing out the shapes, and Jongdae always seemed to find the most ridiculous comparisons.

“That one definitely looks like a water buffalo,” he said, pointing to some sort of blobby, fluffy one. Junmyeon squinted at it, tilting his head. 

“No it doesn’t,” he argued. “It looks like a cat.”

“No, see, those are the horns right there,” he gestured to some part of the blob. Junmyeon just shrugged, a laugh bubbling up in his chest. 

“Okay well that one is a dragon,” Junmyeon pointed to another, and Jongdae looked at it carefully. 

“Yeah, I can see that,” he nodded. The breeze lifted strands of his hair off his face, the sun lighting them up. Junmyeon rolled onto his side, pillowing his head on his arm.

“You should sing for me,” he said softly. He had been practically burning with curiosity to hear Jongdae’s voice ever since the other had said he wanted to be a singer. Jongdae looked at him slightly wide-eyed, a blush dusting the tops of his cheekbones. 

“Okay,” he mumbled. He was uncharacteristically shy about it, laughing nervously before taking a deep breath and starting. He sang a ballad, a love song that Junmyeon later learned was written by Baekhyun. His voice was clear and strong, and Junmyeon just closed his eyes and listened. 

Jongdae started to sing a lot more after that, as if knowing that Junmyeon liked his voice gave him the green light to go around absentmindedly singing little songs. Sometimes Junmyeon would stop whatever he was doing and just listen for a minute as Jongdae sang softly to himself. It was nice to have another presence there, someone else bringing noise and life into his apartment which had been empty before, no matter how many things he filled it with. 

~

Several weeks later, it had begun to seem that everything Jongdae did was with the sole intent to make Junmyeon as sexually frustrated as possible. He would press himself up against Junmyeon and speak quietly into his ear while Junmyeon was working at the computer, just trying to distract him. 

His lips would sometimes make their way to Junmyeon’s neck, kissing slowly, until Junmyeon snapped back to focus on his work, and Jongdae would slink away, smirking. He was always doing teasing little things, trying to rile him up.

It was on a Friday two weeks later when Jongdae was sexiled by Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and showed up at Junmyeon’s apartment, wet from the rain outside and with a box of pizza in hand.

“Hi,” he said, holding out the box and smiling.

“This feels oddly familiar,” Junmyeon laughed, stepping aside to let him in. Junmyeon took the box, then quickly set it aside in favor of pulling Jongdae in for a kiss. He tasted like rainwater and cold.

Jongdae was soaked from rain, and he went off to use Junmyeon’s shower and borrow a fresh set of clothes before too much water dripped onto the floor. Junmyeon could hear him humming absently against the sound of the running water, and he just stood still for a minute, smiling. He hadn’t felt this happy with his life for a long time. 

It was just ten minutes later when Jongdae draped himself over Junmyeon’s lap, smelling fresh from the shower. Junmyeon tensed, startled by the sudden warmth on him, the faint scent of his own shampoo reaching his nose. Droplets of water slid from Jongdae’s hair down the side of his neck to soak into the collar of the shirt he borrowed from Junmyeon. 

“What are you doing?” Junmyeon questioned, looking up into Jongdae’s eyes, wide with feigned innocence. 

“Nothing,” he said with a shrug, shifting just a touch closer. “What are you doing?” 

What had he been doing? His mind raced. “Uh, just looking at movies. I thought we could watch one?” Junmyeon suggested.

“Yeah, we could,” Jongdae said. His eyes were burning into Junmyeon’s, his fingers tightening almost imperceptibly, where they rested on Junmyeon’s arms. Junmyeon could almost hear what he was implying. Or we could…

He swallowed, eyes flicking back to the TV screen. “Okay,” he mumbled. “Uh…you like action movies, right?”

“Sure, action movies are good.” You know what’s better?

He seemed reluctant as he slid off of Junmyeon’s lap, instead curling into his side and settling down to watch the movie.

~

Playing Cards Against Humanity with Baekhyun and Chanyeol was a terrible idea. The sexual tension between the two was palpable, and by the fifth shot of tequila, they weren’t really even trying to hide it.

Jongdae was reading out the card. “Anthropologists have discovered a primitive tribe that worships…”

There were a few moments of quiet, then Baekhyun giggling in a somewhat terrifying fashion, and then Jongdae began to read out the answers. 

“My collection of high-tech sex toys,” he read, and Chanyeol snorted out a laugh. “Thank you, Baekhyun,” Jongdae added. “The scary thing is that he actually has a collection,” He made a disgusted face.

“Yeah, I know, it’s great,” Chanyeol nodded eagerly, sounding a little breathless, and Jongdae made an even more disgusted face before continuing.

“Anthropologists have discovered a primitive tribe that worships…Bitches,” he tried to stifle a laugh and mostly failed. “Okay, or anthropologists have discovered a primitive tribe that worships being a dick to children,” he read out. “How sweet.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were laughing, practically falling all over each other, narrowly avoiding spilling the rest of the bottle of tequila. Jongdae, less drunk than those two, looked over at an also less drunk Junmyeon and grinned. “Well I’m definitely not choosing Baekhyun’s sex toy collection, so bitches it is,” he tossed the card to Junmyeon. 

“You knew it was me?” Junmyeon grinned back as he accepted the card, and Jongdae just nodded. 

“I knew right away. And you’re much better at this game than Baekhyun. He always picks the kinkiest ones he can find, even if it’s not funny,” Jongdae said, looking fondly in Baekhyun’s direction, even as he lay on the floor with Chanyeol half flopped on top of him. 

Junmyeon was next, picking up the top card, almost cringing when he saw what it was. He soldiered on anyways. “During sex I like to think about…” A minute later he was gathering up the cards

“Okay,” Junmyeon began, already feeling the blush form on his face. “During sex I like to think about…a vibrating cock ring,” Jongdae started cracking up, smacking Baekhyun in the shoulder with a handful of cards. Baekhyun was also laughing hysterically, looking entirely pleased with himself. Jongdae had been right, Baekhyun always did pick the kinky ones, but apparently all it took was one more shot before Jongdae also though it was funny. “Moving on,” Junmyeon said, clearing his throat. “A homoerotic volleyball montage. Wait, are we taking about Haikyuu?”

Everyone laughed, and Junmyeon wasn’t really sure if they were laughing with him or at him. “Apparently we are,” Baekhyun said. “You’re so cute, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon cleared his throat again. “Alright, next. Faking satisfaction for appearances sake.” Baekhyun’s smile was suddenly gone, as he turned to stare at Chanyeol in horror.

“What the fuck?” he blinked. “What the actual fuck?” 

“How do you know it was Chanyeol, could’ve been me,” Jongdae said, a smile playing at his lips.

“Oh please, Jongdae, we know you haven’t gotten any in months,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“Hey!” Jongdae protested, pouting at him, but Baekhyun was already glaring daggers at Chanyeol.

“I was kidding, it was a joke!” Chanyeol frantically assured him, holding up his hands in surrender and smiling so hard it looked like he was in pain. “I promise, Baek! I love sex, your dick is awesome! It’s amazing, awe-inspiring-”

“It’s really nothing special,” Jongdae interrupted with an unimpressed wave of his hand.

“What, you’ve seen it?” Chanyeol looked at Jongdae with wide eyes. 

“Skinny dipping in high school, you know,” Jongdae gave another noncommittal hand wave. “It’s really not that great.”

Baekhyun broke in, flicking Jongdae’s forehead. “Okay, that is completely false, my-”

“Wait, so he hasn’t seen it?”

“What? No, I mean yes- yes, he’s seen it, but I was referring to the part where he said it ‘wasn’t that great’—which is completely untrue,” Baekhyun explained.

“Well, I think the best answer was the homoerotic volleyball,” Junmyeon interrupted loudly, before there could be any more debate about the topic of Baekhyun’s genitalia. “I love Haikyuu.”

“Jesus Christ, Junmyeon. You are so fucking cute,” Baekhyun reached over and roughly pinched Junmyeon’s cheek, then ruffled his hair aggressively until Junmyeon shrieked and wrenched himself away, flailing around. Jongdae just rolled his eyes and laughed at Baekhyun. He scooted a little closer to Junmyeon and squirmed up under his arm to curl against his side, resting his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“He is cute, isn’t he?” Jongdae smiled up at Junmyeon fondly, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. “And I win this round! I knew homoerotic volleyball montages would remind you of anime.” He grabbed the card with a flourish and added it to the stack that he had already won.

“I think everything reminds him of anime,” Chanyeol added.

~

On a Saturday night two weeks later, they were watching a movie on Junmyeon’s TV, a bowl of popcorn on the coffee able in front of them. From his place on the couch, Junmyeon reached for a handful of popcorn, only to be interrupted by Jongdae flinging himself into Junmyeon’s lap. Junmyeon nearly shrieked in surprise, hands automatically reaching out to hold onto Jongdae’s hips, steadying him. Jongdae’s eyes were dark and his voice was low when he leaned in to speak into Junmyeon’s ear.

“This movie is boring as shit,” He said and shifted, wriggling in his lap. Junmyeon wanted to argue, but Jongdae’s lips were on his neck, tracing a path along his jawline and the protests died in his throat. 

Junmyeon could tell where this was going. They hadn’t gone very far, really just heavy makeout sessions, nothing very sexual, but Junmyeon would be lying if he said he didn’t want more. He hadn’t wanted to rush Jongdae, he had wanted to be patient. 

His grip around Jongdae’s hips tightened and he pulled him closer as he brought their lips together. 

The younger boy moaned into the kiss, sliding his tongue into Junmyeon’s mouth. “I want you,” Jongdae whispered, pulling back to meet his eyes. Junmyeon felt his throat go dry, his heart rate picking up, and then he was pulling Jongdae’s lips back to his and kissing him deeper, hands sliding up under his shirt to graze fingernails over his ribs. 

“I…”

“You already bought me dinner. About ten times,” Jongdae reminded him as his hands went to the first button on Junmyeon’s shirt. “I realized that I should stop trying to give you subtle hints. You weren’t getting it.” He made quick work of the row of buttons, stopping for a moment to let his eyes roam over the expanse of Junmyeon’s torso. “I did not expect you to have a fucking six pack,” he mumbled, moving down further so that he could trail kisses along Junmyeon’s chest. “What the fuck?”

“Did you think I would be flabby?” Junmyeon tried to sound upset, but his voice was a touch strained.

“Not flabby, I just didn’t think you would be hiding this from me,” Jongdae slid off the couch so he was on his knees on the floor, already going for the button of Junmyeon’s jeans. 

“Wait, hold on,” Junmyeon insisted. He placed a hand of Jongdae’s shoulder to move him back a little. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to, why else would I be doing it?” Jongdae said, brushing away his concerns. His eyes were dark with lust, lips slightly swollen from kisses, and Junmyeon felt his cock throb inside his pants. 

“Okay,” he acquiesced, and then Jongdae was tugging down the zipper of his jeans. 

“I’ve been trying for weeks now to get this far,” Jongdae said, smirking up at him. 

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushing you,” Junmyeon explained. “No need to be too hasty.”

“Yes there is. I’ve been sexually frustrated for weeks.” He was impatient in the way his hands gripped the waistband of Junmyeon’s pants and underwear, tugging until Junmyeon’s lifted his hips so Jongdae could move the clothing out of the way, hand already stroking him to hardness. He moved forward to get his mouth around the head of his cock, hot and wet. Junmyeon dug his teeth into his lower lips hard as Jongdae wasted no time in sinking his mouth down as far as he could. 

His mouth was slick and hot, tongue pressing and licking along the underside of his cock, and Junmyeon groaned. His hands made their way into Jongdae’s hair, gripping the strands tight enough to be edging on painful. Jongdae moaned around Junmyeon’s cock, eyes flicking up to stare straight into his. 

Fuck, just the image alone—Jongdae on his knees, kitten lips stretched around Junmyeon’s throbbing cock and eyes wide and deceptively innocent—was enough to have heat coursing through Junmyeon’s body. 

The tip of his cock hit the back of Jongdae’s throat, and Junmyeon was panting, head falling back and eyes squeezing shut when Jongdae swallowed around him. The suction was perfect, heat enveloping him and making him even harder. Jongdae pulled back and slid down again around Junmyeon’s length. 

He breathed through his nose, concentrating on the weight, the feel of the flesh heavy on his tongue. His tongue traced along the ridge of the head, down the prominent vein on the underside. He let his teeth just barely graze along the sides as he slid his mouth back down as far as he could go until it hit the back of his throat. Above him, Junmyeon released a breathless moan and his hands clenched around Jongdae’s hair, drawing another muffled sound from him. His eyes were beginning to water, but he stayed there, breathing carefully and swallowing around Junmyeon’s cock. 

Pulling back to suckle lightly at the head, Jongdae looked up to watch the blissed-out expression on his Junmyeon’s face. Lips parted, eyes shut, his brow furrowed, he looked incredible like that, and Jongdae felt a rush of satisfaction. His own arousal was a distracting thrum in his mind, and he pressed the heel of his hand against the front of his sweatpants, focusing on the task at hand. He could tell that Junmyeon was getting close. 

He sucked harder, moving down again and digging his hands in where they rested on Junmyeon’s thighs. 

“Jongdae, I’m close,” Junmyeon warned, tugging gently at his hair to pull him back.

Panting, Jongdae let himself be pulled off for second, only to insist, “In my mouth.” And he was wrapping his lips back around Junmyeon’s throbbing length. 

“Jongdae, fuck, you’re amazing,” His hands clenched again in his hair, hips jerking, and then Jongdae sucked hard, and Junmyeon was coming. His cock twitched, releasing spurts of hot cum, slightly bitter, into Jongdae’s mouth. He swallowed eagerly, pulling off of Junmyeon’s softening cock. 

Jongdae caught his breath, letting Junmyeon run gentle fingers through his hair until Jongdae was flopping back down onto the couch next to him. Junmyeon’s hand slid around the back of his neck to pull him in for a slow kiss, tasting himself on Jongdae’s tongue. Junmyeon’s hands hesitated at the waistband of Jongdae’s pants.

“Can I?”

“You just came in my mouth, do you really need to ask that question?”

“Oh my god,” Junmyeon ducked his head down, face turning slightly pink. He laughed a little nervously, cheeks still flushed, as he tugged the sweatpants out of the way and wrapped his hand around Jongdae’s hard cock. Jongdae’s head fell back, a soft moan falling from his lips and his back arching as Junmyeon pumped him. His grip was slow and firm, and the drag of skin on skin was hot and perfect. 

“Is that okay?” Junmyeon asked, not stopping the movement of his hand. An amused smile flitted over Jongdae’s features before his lips were parting in another moan. 

“Yeah,” he mumbled. Junmyeon’s thumb swiped over the head of his cock where precum was gathered, easing the slide. “That’s perfect.”

Soon enough, Jongdae was thrusting up to push through the tight circle of Junmyeon’s fist and Junmyeon moved his hand faster. The slick glide was accompanied by the sounds of Jongdae panting, his breath coming quicker, his legs trembling. His body was tensed, wound tight, and his back arched up.

Junmyeon slid his free hand over Jongdae’s chest, reaching across to thumb at his nipples. He watched Jongdae’s face, experimenting until he got the best reactions. Jongdae’s teeth dug into his swollen lower lip, eyes closed in pleasure. He was so close. 

When Junmyeon leaned down to kiss across his collarbone and shoulder, Jongdae’s hands slid up into his hair and gripped tightly. “Fuck, I’m close,” he half whimpered, head tilting to give Junmyeon more access. With a few more quick strokes, he came, ropes of cum on his flushed chest and Junmyeon’s fingers. Junmyeon worked him through it, dragging slowly from base to tip until Jongdae was shivering from aftershocks. 

Junmyeon retrieved tissues to clean them up, while Jongdae remained lying on the couch, letting his breathing return to normal. They cleaned up and slid their clothes back on rather unceremoniously before Jongdae was turning Junmyeon’s face towards him and kissing him, their mouths slow and lingering. 

“Thank you,” he whispered against Junmyeon’s lips as they pulled apart. He was smiling lazily.

“I should be thanking you,” Junmyeon whispered back, and then pulled him in for another kiss. 

~

Sehun had developed a habit of asking Junmyeon about his relationship with Jongdae at inopportune times during the workday. 

“So, did you dick him yet?” he asked as he passed by Junmyeon’s desk, a stack of papers in hand. Junmyeon shushed him, looking over to where another employee, one of the marketing guys, was giving them looks. He offered an apologetic smile.

“No I didn’t, and if I had, it would be none of your business,” Junmyeon said in a quiet voice so he wasn’t disrupting anyone. His boss was in his office five feet behind them, and he probably wouldn’t be too happy about his employees discussing their sex lives at work.

“Hm. Well, it will happen eventually,” Sehun said with a shrug and headed off towards the copy room.

“It” happened three weeks later. After several more rounds of blowjobs and handjobs, Junmyeon and Jongdae came to the conclusion that neither had any idea what they were even waiting for, or why they hadn’t already had sex.

One minute, Jongdae was stirring a pot of hot chocolate, Junmyeon wrapped around him in a back hug—and then the next, they were kissing fiercely, tongues and teeth and heat all mingling together. Junmyeon pressed him back against the kitchen counter, one hand on his back and the other tangled in the bleached strands of his hair. They had kissed like this plenty of times before, but it felt different this time, as if the air between them was charged.

The edge of the counter dug into Jongdae’s lower back as his hands clenched into fists around Junmyeon’s cotton shirt, pulling him closer so they were pressed tightly together. Junmyeon’s hand fisted in Jongdae’s hair and pulled his head back to leave heated kisses down his neck to his collarbone, sucking lightly at the delicate skin. They were flush against each other, hot and electrifying, and Jongdae rocked his hips forward against Junmyeon’s. The friction startled a gasp from his kiss-swollen lips, and then their mouths were sealed together again, tongues and teeth and muffled sounds. 

“Bedroom,” Jongdae demanded, choking the word out around a moan. “Now.”

They stumbled down the hallway still halfway intertwined, their limbs knocking together and lips seeking more, more, more. Jongdae pushed Junmyeon towards the bed, already lifting the hem of his shirt with searching hands running all over his skin. Junmyeon reached out to pull Jongdae’s shirt off, dropping it to the ground before a palm was pushed flat against his chest and he fell back onto the bed.

Jongdae followed him down, straddling his hips and leaning in to reconnect their mouths. Junmyeon’s hands slid down his back to the curve of his ass, pulling him down so that their hips rocked together. He could feel that Jongdae was already hardening in his jeans, and Junmyeon was too. Their clothes were beginning to feel stifling, and Junmyeon was quickly flicking open the button of Jongdae’s pants. Jongdae ground down against Junmyeon again, moaning, and Junmyeon swallowed hard.

Junmyeon hadn’t really had sex in a while, and now he was staring to get kind of nervous because it was Jongdae and he was wonderful and amazing and Junmyeon really didn’t want to fuck anything up, but he didn’t have time to worry because Jongdae was already wiggling out of his jeans then, kicking them away and grabbing at Junmyeon’s to pull them off. Everything was hot and bordering on desperate, hands sliding over bodies and mouths pressed to heated skin. Underwear followed soon after and then it was all bare skin against skin.

“Hurry up,” Jongdae murmured impatiently, almost whining. He dragged his lips down the line of Junmyeon’s jaw and flicked his tongue out to taste the sweat slicked skin. 

“You’re sure? Absolutely pos-”

“Absolutely positive,” Jongdae affirmed, then nipped teasingly at Junmyeon’s clavicle before continuing farther down. Junmyeon groaned, chest rising and falling faster. His head was full of Jongdae, invading his senses and filling every open space. Junmyeon gripped his shoulders and pulled him back up so they were eye level. And it was really mushy but he was actually thinking about how Jongdae’s eyes were so pretty and sparkly. Jongdae leaned in to nip at Junmyeon’s lower lip, breaking his train of thought abruptly. Junmyeon kissed him back and then he was flipping them over so Jongdae was on his back, looking up at him breathlessly. 

His eyes were dark and glassy, lips swollen from rough kisses, and he looked beautiful. 

“Junmyeon,” he almost moaned out. “Come on,” he arched up impatiently and slid his hands around Junmyeon’s back to pull him down. Junmyeon kissed him again as he reached for the bottle of lube stuffed in the drawer of his bedside table, hands searching blindly. They broke apart and Jongdae shuffled up the bed farther so they were in the center. Junmyeon fussed over him, making sure his head was resting on a pillow before he opened the lube. Jongdae’s eyes watched him closely, tongue darting out to wet his lips. 

Junmyeon coated his fingers well, not wanting it to be painful for Jongdae. 

“Come on, I want your fingers in me,” Jongdae writhed impatiently, hooking one leg around Junmyeon’s hip and dragging him closer.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Junmyeon frowned. His expression was concerned, eyebrows drawn together.

“You won’t hurt me, I’m not some virginal teenager,” Jongdae teased. Then he reached up and stroked his hand down the side of Junmyeon’s face with a fond smile that felt oddly domestic in that moment. Junmyeon nodded earnestly, eyes bright with intensity, and then he was lining up one finger and pressing it inside.

Jongdae took the first two easily, relaxing around the digits. He made soft, pleased sounds as Junmyeon scissored his fingers apart, stretching him carefully and caressing along his walls. He searched, fingers reaching and adding pressure until Jongdae let out a soft keen and tightened his hold in Junmyeon’s hair.

“Right there, ah,” he encouraged, and Junmyeon rubbed his fingertips over his prostate slowly, teasingly. Jongdae’s body arched, his eyes squeezing shut as he lost himself in the sensation. Junmyeon pulled his fingers out and added another as gently as possible. Jongdae tensed a little, and Junmyeon stroked gently at his hipbone until he relaxed.

“Okay?” He asked, keeping his hand still. 

“Yeah,” Jongdae bucked his hips up against Junmyeon fingers. “Keep going.”

Junmyeon was thorough with prepping him, going slow and careful until Jongdae was practically riding his fingers, panting and angling his hips so Junmyeon’s fingers hit his prostate. “I’m ready, Junmyeon, just-ah-”

He dug his teeth into his lower lip and lifted his head from where it had tilted back on the pillow. His eyes were burning with need. 

“O-okay,” Junmyeon said, leaning over to rifle through his bedside table where he knew there were condoms somewhere. After a several seconds of cursing and shuffling and just generally ruining the mood, Junmyeon still hadn’t found the elusive condoms, and Jongdae joined him in searching through the drawer. He was smiling though, and Junmyeon forced himself to relax. Jongdae’s hand searched around for a moment before he managed to grab a box.

He studied it carefully for a moment before his gaze slid back to Junmyeon’s steadily blushing face. He raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat disbelieving.

“Why the fuck do you have glow-in-the-dark condoms? Did you buy these online too?” 

“I…yes. I don’t know, okay, don’t ask me why,” Junmyeon shook his head, biting his lip nervously. “I have others.”

“It’s cute,” Jongdae said. “You’re cute, I like it,” he kissed Junmyeon on the cheek. “But we’re not using them,” he laughed.

Junmyeon flushed slightly, turning back to the open drawer. “I swear to god there are normal ones in here,” he managed to find them after another few seconds of digging, holding one up victoriously. Why did he have to make everything so awkward. 

Junmyeon fumbled clumsily with the condom wrapper before he could get it open, nearly dropping it twice. Jongdae’s hands pushed his own aside to finish rolling it down over Junmyeon’s length, his hands just slightly unsteady. Junmyeon added more lube until Jongdae was laughing and pushing at his shoulder impatiently. Junmyeon looked at him sheepishly, smiling back.

“Junmyeon, you aren’t going to break me,” Jongdae pulled him down into a soft kiss.

“I just want it to be good for you too,” Junmyeon whispered against his lips, and Jongdae ran a hand down his arm until he could slide his hand into Junmyeon’s, intertwining their fingers. Junmyeon squeezed his hand softly, and then he was lining himself up and sliding forward in one smooth motion.

Jongdae’s blunt fingernails dug into Junmyeon’s shoulders as he slowly pushed inside. His face pressed into Junmyeon’s neck and he panted hotly, eyes shut and lips parted to take in gasps of air. He sobbed when Junmyeon was fully inside, and Junmyeon moaned, the sound low and erotic in Jongdae’s ear. He stayed still for a moment, and the only sounds were the harsh breathing filling the room. Jongdae’s eyes fluttered open, and their gazes met and held, filled with lust and something else simmering under the surface.

“You okay?” Junmyeon asked, his voice rough to his own ears. His eyes followed the way Jongdae’s throat worked as he swallowed, then nodded.

“You can move,” he answered, briefly tightening his hold on Junmyeon’s hand, then relaxing. Junmyeon pulled out, his cock dragging against Jongdae’s walls, and then slid back in. The friction and the stretch was a slow burn and they both moaned. They went slow at first, Junmyeon holding himself back to let Jongdae adjust. 

Jongdae pulled him down into a hungry kiss, their tongues brushing and teeth nipping at swollen lips, and Junmyeon groaned against his soft lips. Jongdae moaned into his mouth, and the sound sent pinpricks of pleasure down Junmyeon’s spine. Sweat slicked bodies sliding together, Jongdae eagerly met every thrust, coaxing him to move faster. His hands gripped tightly into the sheets, his body arching up and head tilting back. 

Junmyeon nosed along his neck, biting and sucking in the hollow of his jaw until a mark was forming. Junmyeon stifled a moan just from the sight of Jongdae’s bruising skin as he sped up his thrusts, Jongdae pushing into each one and digging his nails harder into Junmyeon’s shoulders. The air was heavy with the sounds of skin on skin and breathy moans.

Jongdae pushed lightly at his chest, nudging Junmyeon until he gave in and turned onto his back, letting Jongdae straddle him and sink down onto his cock. The sight alone, his skin shining with sweat, back arched and hair tousled, was enough to almost push Junmyeon over the edge, and he held tightly to Jongdae’s hips. The heat of the tight walls squeezing around his cock was delicious, and he let out a deep groan when Jongdae dropped down all the way and swiveled his hips.

Bracing his hands against Junmyeon’s chest, he lifted up and dropped back down hard. His lower lip was caught between his teeth and his face looked thoroughly blissed out. He adjusted the angle as he repeated the motion, and then his head fell back and he whimpered.

“Ah, ah, there” he gasped out, moving faster now and practically bouncing on Junmyeon’s lap. Junmyeon thrusted up into him and Jongdae moaned louder. Junmyeon’s hands gripped onto his hips hard, pulling Jongdae down to meet him. They both panted, breaths fast and unsteady, and Junmyeon could feel that he was getting close. With one hand still on Jongdae hip, he wrapped the other around Jongdae’s cock, hard and red. 

He jerked him off with quick strokes, paying attention to the way Jongdae’s voice became increasingly high and desperate.

“Almost there,” he said through gritted teeth, practically grinding in Junmyeon’s lap. Junmyeon slammed his hips up hard and dragged his thumb over the head of Jongdae’s cock, and that was all it took. Jongdae came across his stomach and Junmyeon’s fist with a choked cry, his body going taught and vision flashing white.

Junmyeon’s body tensed, his pace speeding up even more as he fucked Jongdae through his orgasm. The way Jongdae clenched around him brought Junmyeon over the edge, arms shaking as it wracked through him in waves of pleasure. He panted into Jongdae’s neck as he came down from his high, grinding slowly until he was spent. It was another minute before he pulled out and tied off the condom, tossing it into the trash can.

Junmyeon collapsed onto the bed next to Jongdae, neither of them speaking while they caught their breath. Jongdae’s chest was still rising and falling unsteadily, but he turned his head and gave Junmyeon a content smile.

“Why didn’t we do this sooner?” he asked, voice slightly hoarse. He had that familiar teasing smile on his lips, and Junmyeon felt his heart clench.

Junmyeon eventually dragged himself off the bed and into the bathroom to retrieve a damp washcloth. After he cleaned himself and Jongdae, Junmyeon barely had time to toss aside the cloth before Jongdae was tugging him back into bed. He was warm and pliant and sated, and curled himself around Junmyeon, trapping him with arms and legs and clinging to him. Jongdae nosed against his jaw, tucking his head under Junmyeon’s chin and sighing softly. 

Junmyeon strained to reach the switch on the lamp and click it off, leaving them with only the faint glow of city lights from outside the window. 

~

In the morning, Junmyeon woke up to soft sheets and a warm body pressed up against his own. Their legs tangled together under the sheets, strewn haphazardly across the bed, and Jongdae’s arm was slung over him loosely, hair fanned out across the pillow. Junmyeon took the opportunity to just study him for a moment, slightly chapped lips parted, eyelashes dark against his skin, his body soft and relaxed. It was only a minute before Jongdae’s eyes blinked open and a lazy smile greeted him.

“You’re staring at me.”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon mumbled. “You’re nice to look at.” Somehow his face still insisted on blushing, feeling somehow caught. Jongdae just smiled wider and wriggled closer to muffle his giggling into Junmyeon’s chest.

Despite Junmyeon’s protests, Jongdae insisted that he would make breakfast, so Junmyeon decided to settle for the most certainly blackened food, and went to do laundry while Jongdae got started.

Jongdae was in the kitchen, scrutinizing the instructions on a box of pancake mix, hair ruffled and wearing one of Junmyeon’s old t-shirts, when Junmyeon came in. He was humming quietly to himself, fingertip tracing over the words on the box. Junmyeon padded closer with soft footsteps and wrapped his arms around Jongdae, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. Jongdae relaxed back into his embrace with a sigh. The sunlight streaming in the kitchen window was warm and bright.

“I love you,” Junmyeon said quietly. Jongdae stiffened, taken a little off guard. There was a beat of silence, two, three, before Jongdae was turning around and crushing his lips against Junmyeon’s. 

“I love you, too,” he said against Junmyeon’s lips, his own curling up into a blinding smile. Junmyeon pulled Jongdae tighter against him, burying his face into his neck. He breathed in the faint scent of cologne and apple shampoo and Jongdae, and smiled. In that moment, he felt happier than he could ever remember.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it all the way through this…thing, then thank you! And a thank you to Q for listening to me ramble and reading this shiz. I've never done a fic fest, or actually written anything with plot before, so…this was an interesting experience for me. Yes. OTL


End file.
